Introduction

If you are responsible for the completion of closedown tasks and critical closedown functions or any other level of financial administration, read the guidance below to make sure you are following the correct process and are aware of the key deadlines that are to be met.

The legal side

The production of the statement of accounts at the end of every financial year is a statutory requirement of the council. The legislation requires the council to complete and publish its unaudited accounts by 30 June each year.

What help is available

The closure of accounts guidance notes provide advice in the main areas and the key dates involved in the closedown of service accounts including year-end deadlines and procedures for items such as:

• payment of external invoices
• internal payments and recharges
• cash income
• debtors accounts
• stocks
• cash float certificates
• expense claims
• leave carry forward
• details of contracts over £10,000
• accountancy representatives.

It is important that you meet the relevant deadline for the procedure you are completing so that we meet our legal requirement to publish our accounts as a council.

Accruals forms

The forms you need to complete for each closedown process are in the accruals forms spreadsheet below.

The accruals forms cover the following service processes:

• creditor accruals form
• debtor accruals form
• payment in advance form
• provision estimate details
• accrual estimate details.

For 2025/26 the minimum threshold for accruals and estimates has increased from £1,000 to £10,000 for non-system generated accruals. This is in line with transformational objectives for the council to redefine processes and improve efficiency. For further information refer to appendix F of the closedown guidance notes.

If you have any queries, please contact the accountancy representative for your service area. Contact details can be found in section 12 of the closedown guidance notes.

Procure to Pay - accountancy representatives

The document below provides a list of the accountancy representatives for each team across the council.

Help and support

If you need any further help with any of the closure of account processes you can: